After a mesothelioma diagnosis, your attention may be focused on medical appointments, treatment decisions, and helping your family understand what comes next. You may also be wondering whether you can still bring a lawsuit when the asbestos exposure happened decades ago, and how long you have to take legal action.
In Pennsylvania, an asbestos-related lawsuit generally must be filed within two years. The critical question is which event starts that two-year period.
The deadline is usually not measured from the date of the original asbestos exposure. It generally turns on when a physician informed the person that asbestos caused an injury or when the person knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, of that connection.
This article explains how Pennsylvania’s filing rule applies after a mesothelioma diagnosis, why earlier medical information or a prior asbestos claim may need to be reviewed, what families should know after a death, and what to do when two years have almost passed or appear to have expired. You should not assume that two full years remain, but you also should not conclude that it is already too late without having the complete timeline reviewed.
What Is the Pennsylvania Mesothelioma Statute of Limitations?
Pennsylvania law generally provides a two-year statute of limitations for lawsuits seeking damages for an injury or death caused by asbestos exposure.
The two-year period begins on the earlier of two dates: when a licensed physician informs the affected person that the person has been injured by asbestos exposure, or when the person knew or, through reasonable diligence, should have known that the person had an injury caused by asbestos exposure.
A final pathology report, therefore, does not necessarily provide the only relevant date. Medical records, physician communications, and the timing of the information provided to the person can all be important when calculating the filing deadline.
Does the Deadline Start When the Asbestos Exposure Happened?
Generally, no.
Mesothelioma has a long latency period. A person may have encountered asbestos in a steel mill, power plant, refinery, railroad facility, construction site, or industrial plant decades before developing symptoms or receiving a diagnosis.
For that reason, exposure during the 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s is not automatically too old to support a lawsuit. The age of the exposure alone does not determine whether the filing deadline has expired.
Is the Deadline Always Two Years From the Mesothelioma Diagnosis?
Not necessarily. A mesothelioma diagnosis is often the most important date, but the filing period may begin earlier if a physician previously informed the person that the person had mesothelioma and connected it to asbestos exposure. The date the person knew or, through reasonable diligence, should have known of that connection may also matter.
An earlier diagnosis of a different asbestos-related disease does not necessarily start the filing period for a later mesothelioma claim. Pennsylvania generally permits a person with a manifested nonmalignant asbestos-related disease to bring a separate claim if a malignant asbestos-related disease later develops. For example, an earlier diagnosis of a nonmalignant condition does not automatically mean that the deadline for a later-diagnosed mesothelioma claim began at the same time.
The timeline may require closer review when:
- A physician provided information about possible mesothelioma or its connection to asbestos before the final pathology report
- Medical findings and physician communications occurred on different dates
- The person previously received a different asbestos-related diagnosis
- The person previously filed an asbestos lawsuit, bankruptcy trust claim, or workers’ compensation claim
- The person signed a release or received a settlement involving an asbestos-related condition
- The exposure, diagnosis, employment, treatment, or residence involved more than one state
These circumstances do not automatically shorten, extend, or eliminate the filing period. A prior asbestos claim may affect the available defendants, claims, or compensation sources without necessarily determining when the limitations period for mesothelioma began. The deadline should therefore be calculated from the complete medical and legal history rather than from the date appearing on a single report.
Does a Mesothelioma Death Start a New Two-Year Deadline?
A family that has lost someone to mesothelioma should not assume that the death automatically starts a new two-year filing period.
Pennsylvania’s asbestos statute applies to actions seeking damages for both injury and death. In an asbestos-related wrongful death case, the limitations period generally is measured from when the affected person was informed by a physician of the asbestos-related injury or knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, of that injury and its connection to asbestos. It does not automatically begin on the later date of death.
The analysis should therefore consider when the illness was identified, when the person learned that it was connected to asbestos, whether an action was filed during the person’s lifetime, and how much time remained when the death occurred.
Wrongful death and survival claims address different losses. A wrongful death claim generally concerns losses suffered by qualifying family members because of the death. A survival claim continues the claim the person could have pursued during life.
Those differences do not automatically create separate or restarted filing periods in an asbestos case. The family should have the complete medical and filing history reviewed promptly.
Can You Still File if Almost Two Years Have Passed?
Possibly, but there may be little time left to evaluate the potential claim and begin the legal process.
Speaking with a mesothelioma lawyer, requesting medical records, or beginning an investigation does not by itself stop the statute of limitations. In Pennsylvania, an action generally must be properly commenced before the applicable deadline, typically by filing a complaint or a praecipe for a writ of summons.
When time is limited, Savinis, Kane & Gallucci, LLC can review the relevant medical dates, begin examining the person’s work and asbestos exposure history, identify potentially responsible companies, and evaluate where and how an action may need to be commenced.
Not every part of the investigation must be completed before an action is commenced. Even so, waiting until the deadline is close can leave less time to address jurisdictional questions, evaluate the companies involved, and prepare the documents needed to begin the case.
What if More Than Two Years Have Already Passed?
Do not assume that the claim is barred without having the timeline reviewed.
The answer can depend on the date that legally started the filing period, the medical information provided to the person, whether any earlier condition was the same disease or a distinct asbestos-related disease, and whether a lawsuit was already filed.
Asbestos bankruptcy trusts, workers’ compensation claims, veterans’ benefits, and claims connected to another state are governed by separate requirements. The availability of one option does not necessarily preserve or extend the deadline for filing a Pennsylvania lawsuit against a potentially responsible company.
Limited legal doctrines can affect some filing periods, but they are fact-specific and should not be treated as routine exceptions or reasons to wait.
A review of the medical and filing history is therefore necessary before determining whether the deadline has passed.
What Dates and Records Should You Gather?
You do not need to reconstruct an entire work or exposure history before contacting a mesothelioma lawyer. For an initial deadline review, it is helpful to provide:
- The date of the mesothelioma diagnosis
- The date a physician first connected the person’s condition to asbestos exposure
- Records of any earlier asbestos-related diagnosis
- The date of death, if applicable
- Copies of, or information about, any previous asbestos lawsuit, settlement, release, trust claim, or workers’ compensation claim
- The states where the person lived, worked, received treatment, or may have been exposed to asbestos
- The names of the physicians and hospitals involved in the diagnosis
Even approximate dates can provide a useful starting point and help identify which medical, employment, and legal records should be reviewed.
Why Should You Speak With a Lawyer Before the Deadline Is Close?
The statute of limitations is not the only reason to begin promptly.
Mesothelioma cases often involve exposure that occurred decades ago. Former coworkers may become harder to locate, companies may have changed names or reorganized, and employment or product records may no longer be readily available.
Beginning early allows more time to locate witnesses, research worksites and asbestos-containing products, and identify potentially responsible companies.
It can also give the person living with mesothelioma an opportunity to provide a firsthand account of the jobs, working conditions, materials, and people involved. That account can be especially important when written records are incomplete.
Speak With Our Pittsburgh Mesothelioma Lawyers About Your Deadline
You should not have to calculate a legal deadline while managing medical care and the effects of mesothelioma on your family.
Our Pittsburgh mesothelioma lawyers represent people and families affected by mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases throughout Western Pennsylvania and across the state. We can review the medical timeline, prior asbestos claims, and available exposure information, and explain how the applicable filing deadline may affect a potential lawsuit.
Contact Savinis, Kane & Gallucci, LLC for a free consultation. Because the statute of limitations can prevent a potential lawsuit from moving forward, it is important to have the relevant dates reviewed promptly.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Filing deadlines depend on the facts, claims, jurisdictions, and laws applicable to each matter. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.